DIY Video & Step-by-Step: How to Make a Yarn Ornament

December 13, 2015

I’m a little disturbed at how fast time is flying. It feels like only yesterday I was writing about how close we were to Thanksgiving, and suddenly I blink and it’s only two weeks until Christmas! Time is flying and I’ve got to get a move on with everything so I can properly immerse myself in the Christmas spirit.

My to-do list looks something like: Buy a tree. Decorate said tree. Untangle Christmas lights. Bake Christmas cookies. Write Christmas cards…and on and on and on it goes! It feels like I haven’t gotten a thing done yet, and Christmas is creeping up so quickly!

This week we’re continuing our video tutorial series with a quick and easy yarn ornament to take up some space on your tree! I think that this would be an ideal craft to have ready for those inevitable snow days when your kids are bouncing off the walls. Minimal prep time, virtually costless, and super easy cleanup…sounds to me like an ideal craft to get the kids out of your hair.

The nice thing about these ornaments is how easy they are to customize. I think that you’d get a really beautiful result with one of our multicolored yarns like the Kaleidoscope or Dream Baby degrade yarns. To make a super Christmas-y version, I used our Angora Shimmer yarn in Forest Metal Shades.

The only things you’ll need are a piece of cardboard, sharp scissors, a ruler and your yarn of choice. Easy, right?

I pre-prepared this a bit but it’s super easy. Take any old piece of cardboard and cut it into a shape. (For an extra fancy version, maybe cover the cardboard in some wrapping paper first!) For this tutorial, I traced around the rim of a mug and cut it into a circle. Then, take your ruler and mark about 8-10 notches around the edge of the shape. These should be about half an inch each. The more notches you make, the more elaborate your design!

After cutting your notches, take the end of your yarn and slide it through a notch, leaving a “tail” of about 6 inches.

This is where it gets a little tricky to explain. Start “wrapping” your yarn around the cardboard, pushing it through the corresponding notch at the other end of your shape. Continue clockwise, pushing the yarn into the next notch, the notch after that, etc. This is the step that you should watch the video for, because it’s tough to explain in words! I’ll also drop a link HERE to a much better explanation of how to do this type of yarn wrapping.

Continue wrapping, changing it up a little to make your own unique design! You’ll see in our finished product photos that we all ended up with a totally different result based on cardboard size, number of notches, and how we wrapped our yarn.

Once you’re satisfied, tie the ends of your yarn together to make a loop for hanging! Or, if you’re like me and have cats that enjoy nothing more than pulling ornaments off the tree, stick a paperclip or wire ornament hanger through the top and secure it to your tree!